Beltan News: The Chancellor of the Belt Alliance Committee, Stephanie Osiris, has agreed to meet up with Cain Syren to discuss a new deal for them. An inside source has insisted that the members of the committee want this matter resolved quickly because Devil Soil is the leading exporter of minerals in the Asteroid Belt, and any further delays will start affecting planetary economies.

Oli woke up three hours later. She sat upright on the bed and rubbed her bloodshot eyes, trying to get rid of the tiredness. This was the first time she slept well since embarking on this mission, having previously lived in sketchy space motels full of odd individuals.

"We have arrived in Goldhand, Just Oli," Dennis' voice declared through the room's speakers. "Have a bath, then come eat. Patrick is waiting for you."

"Why?" she asked with closed eyes, swaying side to side as sleep tried reclaiming her.

"You are going shopping with him."

"Ah, dat."

"Indeed."

"Me be deya soon." She grabbed her cybernetic legs from the side of the bed and placed them on her thighs. Sleep left her mind, and tears took refuge in her eyes as she brushed her palms on her legs. An acidity filled her mouth, souring her sense of taste as memories of the accident resurfaced like an ocean current, threatening to sweep her away from this reality and into the nightmare of that fateful day.

She gulped, the egg in her throat making it hard to swallow her saliva. Not now. Shaking her head, the haunting thoughts left her mind.

Attaching one leg at a time on the lumps on her knees, a click informed her they were connected. She took a deep breath and exhaled through her mouth. "One day at a time, Olivia. One day at a time," she muttered before standing.

After showering, she reached for the clothes Dennis had brought to her last night. They belonged to Cybil. A plain white shirt covered her torso with a red tie around the collar. Red suspenders held the black trousers in place, and black fingerless gloves covered her hands. She loved her biological mother's style. It would've made her stand out on Mars.

"Just Oli, where are you?" Dennis said over the speakers.

"On me way."

"You are like Ms. Cybil, indeed," Dennis sounded displeased. "She also took hours getting ready. Please, be quick, Just Oli. Patrick is waiting."

Oli's cheeks turned red before smiling. Something other than her looks reminded the bot of her biological mother. Hopefully, there would be more.

🐺

Goldhand Station had been compared to the shape of a lumpy potato—a very large one that could wipe out all but the simplest life forms on Earth if it hit. It was the first site of human colonization in the asteroid belt.

While other colonies depended on mining, shipping commerce, and high docking fees to boost their economy, Goldhand had the largest film production capital in the asteroid belt. It also soaked money from visitors through thrift stores, casinos, brothels, shooting galleries, and sports arenas.

With a population of more than three million, it was branded "Paradiso's Mother" because The Universal Authority believed it birthed the black market.

"Yuh look different," Oli said when she met Patrick on the ramp. He had styled his hair in a quiff; it was pushed back the last time she saw him. "Who cut yuh hair?"

Patrick didn't answer, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at her.

"Wah?"

"Nothing." He walked down the ramp.

She followed him. "Let me guess: Me act like Cybil?"

"Affirmative."

She smiled. "Wah duh yuh notice eena me dat is similar tuh her?"

Patrick stopped walking, turning to her. "She harbored secrets." He stared at her as if he was searching for something on her face. But what? Oli wasn't going to stand there and let his gaze creep her out. She already had decades' worth of trauma caused by machines.

"Everyone have secrets, Patrick. Eh wah makes we human." She resumed walking.

He followed her. "Not me."

"Well, yuh nah..." She bit her tongue.

"I'm not human? Affirmative."

"Me didn't mean..." She cleared her throat before noticing she held his hands, letting them go. "We just met. Me nuh want yuh tuh think me ah bitch."

"You told me the truth, Oli. I'd rather talk to a human who articulates what's in their mind than the one who lies. I'm a machine. If I get my feelings hurt, they can be reprogrammed."

How sad. Oli wanted to say comforting words, but she didn't know what to say, having not been raised in such an environment. "Which part of Goldhand are we shopping in?" she asked instead, hoping a change of topics would help put her in his good graces.

The gloom in Patrick's face disappeared, replaced by a grin that showcased his pearly-white teeth. Boom! She had done it. "The lower sectors," he answered.

Oli gasped. "The Pits?"

He nodded.

She grinned to her last tooth, unable to hide her excitement. The last time she visited Goldhand was in high school, but the supervisors refused to visit The Pits. Rumors of human trafficking had spread through the colony, and those in charge didn't want to deal with the Martian government in case a student got kidnapped.

Cargo spaceships flew over Oli and Patrick, heading towards their designated landing pads to pack or unload, while passenger shuttles arrived or left with a crowd of people and machines.

Oli and Patrick spent thirty minutes stuck in a queue before reaching the front of the line. A female checking officer dressed in a dark purple uniform and a matching cap sat inside a single-person booth.

"I.D?" the checking officer asked Patrick, her sunken eyes with dark bags under them staring at him. He smiled, but the frown on her face remained. "Ah don't have all day."

Patrick pressed his wristtab, and a holo-ID card popped up. The checking officer read it with the scanner on top of her datapad. When the screen lit up in green—showing he wasn't trouble—she said, "Next!"

Oli stepped forth, and the checking officer scanned her I.D. She glanced between her datapad's screen and the bounty hunter as if not believing what was written on it. "Hyenas are always welcomed in Goldhand," she said before pounding her chest with her fist, making Oli's eyes widen. "Screw tha other bounty hunters, yew folks are tha real deal."

"Give thanks." Sweat dripped down Oli's back. Had Patrick heard what the officer said? It wasn't that she wasn't proud of being a hyena, but people outside The Kingdom frowned upon their methods. It was why she didn't want her father to find out, not wanting him to have a negative image of her before getting to know each other.

"Next!" the checking officer shouted.

Oli and Patrick passed through a semi-circular metal gate with built-in sensors—it scanned to see if they had weapons on them—heading for the elevators at the end of the room.

"For how long have you been a hyena?" Patrick asked.

Oli bit the inside of her mouth. "Eight years."

"Master J knows."

No. Tears welled in her eyes. "How did he find out?"

"I told him."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

He was right. She would've done the same thing. It was silly to think she would be able to fool a master detective for long. "Wah did yuh learn bout me?"

"Your whereabouts for the last four months are unknown. Where were you? What were you doing? And why show up now and reveal yourself to the heads of The Universal Authority? There's something you're after, and I want to know what it is."

Oli clenched her hands. He's too nosy. If it was any other machine, she would've destroyed it, and no one there would've suspected her. One poke to the neck, and the synth would malfunction. But with a detective for a father, it wouldn't take him long to figure out she was responsible.

"Fada knows bout dis too?"

"No. The only information he has is you're a hyena. Once I find out why you're with us, I'll tell him everything."

Oli chuckled, getting a raised brow from Patrick. "Earlier yuh seh yuh kept nuh secrets. An now... bess ah luck eena yuh investigation."

Patrick stood still, gazing at Oli from head to toe as she entered the elevator.

"A yuh coming?" Oli used her hands to stop the doors from closing. "We not have all day."

"Affirmative." He joined her before descending to The Pits.